Ohio State : Religion

The first religious settlement in Ohio territory was founded among Huron Indians in 1751 by a Roman Catholic priest near what is now Sandusky. Shortly afterward, Moravian missionaries converted some Delaware Indians to Christianity The first Protestant church was founded by Congregationalist ministers at Marietta in 1788.

In 2000, Ohio had a Roman Catholic population of about 2,231,832 and Jewish population of 142,255. Leading Jewish communities were in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus. The Muslim population was at about 41,281 people. Ohio communities of Amish and Mennonites are among the largest in the nation with over 24,000 Amish and over 20,000 Mennonites in the state (primarily central Ohio).

The largest Protestant denominations and their adherents in 2000 were the United Methodist Church, 566,084; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 301,749; the Southern Baptist Convention, 187,227; the Presbyterian Church USA, 160,800; the United Church of Christ, 157,180; Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, 142,571; and the American Baptist Churches USA, 117,757. About 6.2 million people (55.1% of the population) were not counted as members of any religious organization.